Trickster's Lament
by King of Everything
Summary: Loki has taken the throne of Asgard, but even then not all is as it seems. But still he finds himself unsatisfied. A quality he shares with a one Darcy Lewis. Meanwhile, Odin seeks answers to a dangerous question and the Avengers find that Earth might not be as safe as they had hoped. LokiXDarcy, ThorXJane, NatashaXClint.
1. Chapter 1

Summary: Thor has returned to earth, Malekith is defeated, and unbeknownst to anyone, Loki sits upon the throne of Asgard. But is it everything that he wanted? The Tesseract is held in the vault of Asgard, and the Ether safely stashed away. Meanwhile, Jane Foster and Erik Selvig have been brought in to work with SHIELD, and Darcy Lewis is regretting terribly her choice of relationships. Where has Odin gone? What is Loki planning? Why am I asking you all of this?

Pairings: Tasertricks, Thane, Pepperony, Blackeye, mostly Tasertricks

_**Warning: Definite Spoilers for Thor 2**_

Note: I get the "Otherworldly Aliens" thing that they are trying to do with the Asgardians, but I'm totally ignoring Odin's little discussion with Loki in the beginning of Thor 2, where Odin says they are not gods and Loki states that they live for a few thousand years. As far as I'm concerned, they ARE gods, and their lives are eternal, so long as they are not slain in battle.

Disclaimer: Nay mortals. I do not posses ownership of Loki, Thor, Odin, or any of the other Marvel characters that appear in this story. Regardless, I hope that it pleases you.

* * *

**Chapter 1: A New God-King**

* * *

"The Hammer is yours, so long as you are worthy of it." The words came from his mouth as easily as if they were actually Odin's own, and not those of a trickster in disguise.

Loki scanned Thor's face, as a look of gratitude and perhaps even a bit of pride washed over Thor's face. He was happy to hear his father acknowledge his stature, not only as a great warrior, but as a good and wise man. Loki felt no guilt over letting Thor believe that these were Odin's words. He was sure that, were the All-father here, he would have said much the same. Not that the God of Mischief had ever been one for guilt regardless. In truth, he would have been quite tempted to take Mjolnir, if not for the simple fact that his inability to lift the weapon would have instantly revealed his disguise.

"Thank you, Father." Thor replied, before turning and leaving the damaged throne room, no doubt to return to earth ans his beloved Jane Foster. Loki had to admit, he had been impressed with her spark and fearlessness. Few mortals, even with Thor for protection, would have dared strike him. Still, why Thor took to a mortal so much, he would never know. Surely his brother had to know that in a few short decades it would have to end in pain.

Loki knew the pain of lost love. It had driven him to madness once. A second time it had driven him to side with his most hated enemy against that which had dared take his mother from him.

When Thor had left, Loki smirked, allowing his facade to fade away. No one was watching now, he could sit upon the throne as himself and relish the moment. Soon the disguise would have to go on again.

"No brother. Thank you." he whispered.

'Thank you for this opportunity, for your gullible nature and inability to see what was right in front of your eyes. Thank you for getting me out of that prison cell and allowing me this chance to seize the throne. Never before have I been so grateful for your utter buffoonery.'

Not for the first time, Loki's mind went back to the moment that had started this chain of events which had lead him to be sitting upon the throne.

* * *

"DAMN!" Loki screamed as he let loose another wave of magic which shattered his chair into splinters, "DAMN IT ALL!"

Frigga...Loki's mother...he couldn't believe it. He didn't want to believe it. Damnnit all, it just couldn't be true! Why? Why had he given that monstrosity directions? Would it have mattered?

Was he to blame for his mother's death?

Loki let out a primal scream and every object in his cell, from the books to what was left of the furniture, began to swirl around him as though caught in a vortex. The cell suppressed his magic, other than the simplest of illusions, and the fact that he could overpower the seals was a testament to his rage.

And then suddenly, everything dropped. Loki fell to his knees and reached up to yank at his hair. Tears fell, unrestrained from his eyes and he sobbed. Why had the last thing he ever told her been to tell her that she was not his mother? He had been so angry. So furious, that he had lashed out at the only person who still loved him, unconditionally, even for all his failings.

Never before had he loathed himself so much.

"Come boy. Time to stand. Weeping will not bring her back."

Loki's eyes opened wide in shock and he whipped around as he stood up.

A figure stood before his cell, cloaked in grey. The being was small in stature and his face was indistinguishable beneath a tattered, grey hood. A crooked, wooden staff was held in one hand, as tall as the figure himself.

Loki slammed a hand against his cell window and snarled, "I do not know who you are, but you should know it is unwise to mock me." his words were quiet, but laced with enough murderous venom to slaughter a dozen bilgesnipe.

The figure reached up and removed his hood, and suddenly his figure changed. His staff became a golden spear. His shoulders grew broad and his arms strong, and his face was unmistakable, but held a look of broken and desolate sadness that Loki had never seen before.

Loki recoiled from the window of his cell and his eyes opened wide in shock, "All-father." After a moment, Loki regained his composure, "To what do I owe this visit?"

Odin glanced over Loki's cell, at the broken furniture and tattered books, "I see that your mother had been to see you. Always defiant that woman. Perhaps that is why I loved her."

Loki sneered at his adopted father, "If you have no other purpose here than to talk to me about that woman, you may go. I'm in no mood."

Odin moved with surprising speed, slipping through the barrier between them as though it weren't even there and slapping Loki across the face. The God of Lies fell to the ground and Odin snarled at him, "You seek to wound me by disrespecting the only one of your family who never gave up on you, ceased to love you, and came to you even in your darkest of times. Such is beneath you, Loki."

Loki's body shook, stunned by Odin's blow. Sometimes he forgot the All-father's strength, greater even than Thor's. He looked up at Odin, "Why are you here?"

Odin began to pace across Loki's cell. He picked up what remained of one of Loki's books and flipped through it. He looked as though he were searching for the right words, "Rather basic, isn't it?" Odin asked finally, "This is the Grimoire of the Sorcerer, Galjorn. A perfectly adequate spell caster, but I'd have thought rather beneath your own skills, Loki."

Loki shakily stood to his feet, "Why are you here?" he repeated, his eyes following Odin's path around his cell.

Odin tossed the book aside, "Events are transpiring." he spoke slowly, knowing that he had to chose them carefully in the presence of one so crafty, "Which few understand. The arrival of Malekith and the Dark Elves...I believe to be naught but a herald of much worse things to come. You know of the Aether, of course?"

Loki slowly nodded, "One of the oldest and most powerful weapons in all the realms. I have heard whispers, even here in my prison. Is it true that it has chosen to house itself within the body of my dearest brother's mortal pet?"

Odin nodded, "Yes. A shocking turn of events, even for me. The fact that this weapon has resurfaced after so long is astonishing enough. But so soon after the reappearance of the Tesseract, another Infinity Stone? No, other things are at work here Loki. Things which I do not believe even we understand. Malekith is a threat, but he is merely the beginning of something much larger."

Loki's eyes narrowed, "And why are you sharing this with me?"

Odin let out a bark of laughter, "In truth? I am here to make a deal with you. Thor wishes to go after Malekith, draw him out, using the Aether as bait and then when the Elf king draws the element out of the mortal Jane Foster, he hopes to destroy it. I have forbidden such a course of action, and of course, Thor will seek to disobey me and go through with his foolhardy plan regardless. I know him better than he thinks."

Loki still wasn't sure what this had to do with him, "And where does this deal you spoke of come in?"

"Simple. Thor cannot leave Asgard alone. I made sure of it. He will seek the aid of the only one who might be able to show him a secret way out. Only one person knows all the pathways between the realms Loki."

The trickster god scoffed, "And you want me to prevent Thor's leaving, is that it?"

Odin smirked in a way that was much much like one of Loki's own, "On the contrary. I want you to help him."

Loki raised an eyebrow, "I'm afraid I don't understand."

Odin smiled, "Thor will not be able to destroy the Aether. It's power is far beyond what either he or Malekith is capable of understanding. But he will defeat Malekith, of that much I am certain. He is a warrior, while Malekith has grown fragile with his obsession over the millennia. However, while Thor is doing battle with Malekith, I must be elsewhere. Something is at at the root of these events, and I fear that a much worse danger is on the horizon. I must leave Asgard to seek answers."

Now it was Loki's turn to smirk, "So you want me to help Thor to go and disobey you, create a giant mess and cause a huge scene as is the norm with my dear brother, and in the meanwhile you will use the commotion to sneak out and go hunting down monsters in the shadows? And what exactly do I get out of all this?"

Odin smirked again, "You get to be King."

Loki's smirk immediately disappeared, "King? I? How so?"

"Asgard needs a ruler. Thor is not ready even to rule in my absence, and besides which I do not wish any knowledge of my departure to reach the ears of those who might also be noticing the signs. I'd prefer to search the nine realms and beyond in secrecy. I want you to use your magic to disguise yourself and take my place. You will rule in my stead until I return."

Loki couldn't believe what he was hearing. He turned from the All-father and looked down at his feet as he attempted to make sense of all this, "Not a few days ago, you were willing to denounce me utterly and locked me up like the basest of criminals. Now you would offer me your throne? How do you know I would not betray you and take the throne permanently for myself?"

"Because" Odin replied, "Your mother believed in you. To the last day she told me that she thought you could be redeemed. She loved you. And I did not listen to her. I thought them the words of a desperate mother who is blinded from the truth by her own love for her child. And now, she is gone, and even I cannot change that. But I can honor her deepest last wish, that I give her son a second chance."

Loki didn't turn around, or answer the All-father. He simply stared at the ground. Odin continued, "You will go with Thor, and you will use your illusionary magic to fake your own death and then return to me, at which point I will leave and you will take my place. Thor must not know any of this. If he knew of my quest, he would wish to follow me, but he cannot. Midgard needs him, and I cannot be distracted from this journey. I am placing my faith in you one more time Loki. Here is your chance to make Frigga proud. I hope that you make the right choice."

Odin slipped back out of the cell, again treating the barrier as though it didn't even exist, "And of course you should know that if you do betray me once more, I will kill you."

He slipped his hood over his head, and again he shrunk down and his presence became weak, "One last chance Loki. I know you hold no more love for me, but I hope that you know how much your mother loved you and honor that." He stated, and disappeared up the stone steps that lead out of the prison cells.

Loki watched the man he had once called father until he was out of sight, thinking on the offer made to him. He had to admit, he had not expected such deviousness from Odin. He supposed that so many millenia did must breed a certain amount of cunning. And if it meant getting his revenge on the swine that had killed his dearest mother, the only being in all the realms that he still held some degree of affection for, he would be willing to ally himself even with Thor and Odin.

He would put on a show for Thor. It was what he was best at, being a liesmith that he was. For now though, he would have to let some of his rage out on more of the upholstery.

* * *

In the time since then, Loki had followed the plan perfectly. Thor had indeed defeated Malekith, as Odin and Loki both knew he would. The Aether was back in the hands of the Asgardians. Not a single being in Asgard knew who really sat upon the throne. He didn't know where Odin had gone to, but he suspected that the All-father would be in touch. Everything was going perfectly.

He sensed another presence approaching and quickly returned to his disguise. A pair of royal guards entered and feel to their knees before Loki, "My King. The reconstruction of Asgard is underway. The people await your command."

Loki smiled. Oh, this was going to be so much fun.

* * *

**Soooooo...I've been away from FF for a while. Writing a bit of my own potential novel. Doing college. Falling head over heels in love. Decided to come back and try my hand at something new. Hope you all enjoy. If I feel as though it would be worth it, I may go back to a couple of my older, unfinished stories as well.**


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I posses no rights to Loki, Odin, or any other Marvel product. All that I do is merely for the sake of enjoyment...I LOVE THESE CHARACTERS! WHY CAN THEY NOT BE MIIIIIIIINE!?

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**Chapter 2: Not What She Wanted**

* * *

Darcy Lewis had never really considered herself to be a very special or unusual woman. Eager, excited, air headed yet cleverer than some. She didn't have an IQ in the stratosphere like Jane and Erik, or the commanding presence of Mr. Fury, the sheer badassery of Clint, Steve, or Natasha, or the unique eccentric brilliance of Tony Stark.

And yet, here she was, an intern in SHIELD's Science and Research Division, on a first name basis with several of those same amazing people she had mentioned, and rooming with the God of Thunder and his human girlfriend (who was also her best and possibly only friend).

A lot of things had changed for Darcy since Thor had returned. The first thing that the God of Thunder had wanted to do when all the commotion had gone down and he had properly greeted Jane and promised to never leave her again, was to find his 'brothers in arms' at SHIELD and create a home for himself on Midgard. Turns out, SHIELD hadn't been far behind. Tony and Steve had been less than an hour away when Thor had defeated those crazy WoW knock-offs and their boss, and both were happy to see Thor again (especially the good Captain. Tony seemed a little preoccupied with wanting to know what the hell was going on and why he wasn't invited sooner).

After that, everything had been a bit of a blur. Thor was invited to be an ally of SHIELD and an official defender of the planet earth (which Darcy suspected was done in no small part because Nick Fury had insisted that it was much better to be on Thor's good side than not), Jane had been taken on as a part of a science team dedicated to better understanding the nature of Asgardians, (They had also wanted to involve Erik, but he had failed the psych evaluation, although Darcy had heard that he was doing much better in that regard and would try again in a month or so).

Darcy herself had followed Jane. She hadn't thought that a place like SHIELD, the single most powerful organization in the world, dedicated to the protection of all man-kind, would have really cared about someone like her. And yet, she had experience. She had been there in New Mexico, although she hadn't done a whole lot, and then she had been in Greenwich, where she had actually done something to help save the whole freaking world, and maybe more! I mean, sure, she had shoved a few stakes in the ground, but according to SHIELD, doing so had shown 'Great courage in the face of adversity and excellent initiative' and Jane had vouched for her 'unique mindset'. And they had wanted her.

And now here she was, Darcy Lewis, Agent of SHIELD.

Okay, that last bit was a lie. She was still an intern, she was still Jane's intern, filing stuff and occasionally getting coffee. But hey, it was an internship with SHIELD, and that was still freaking awesome.

And there were a lot of perks. She spent most of her time with Jane, helping in whatever way she could, and it just so happened that Thor ALSO spent most of his time with Jane. And the rest of the Avengers would often come by to talk to Thor, either to inform him of something or just to chat. No less than 3 Avengers knew her by name, and she fancied that Steve Rogers, Captain Freaking America, even considered her to be something of a friend.

And yet...Darcy Lewis didn't feel like she was content with her life. Maybe that was selfish of her. She had done and seen so much. And yet, she was still JUST an intern. For having freaking saved the world, done more than 99% of the suits who passed by with their intense stares and strange infatuation with sunglasses, she was still just the girl who got coffee and whose lack of any sort of filter served as amusement to the people who actually did stuff. She just...wished she was more important.

And then there was Ian. Oh, by Odin's beard, Ian... He hadn't qualified to join SHIELD, but he had followed them to New York and had taken up an apartment nearby to the one that Darcy and Jane shared. And...while she had been happy about it at first, she had become steadily less and less sure of the relationship since then. He followed her around like a puppy, save when she was at SHIELD headquarters doing intern stuff, and always did everything she asked without question and doted on her hand and foot...

And she was getting sort of fed up with it! She felt that she could probably ask him to punch himself in the face and he would put on boxing gloves. She could steamroll over the poor boy! He didn't...challenge her at all. He didn't bring out anything great it her. He was a good person, and a nice guy, and for a while she had been caught up in the whole romanticism of his having saved her back in England, but she didn't want a guy who was totally submissive to everything she did. Not that she wanted a guy who would control or try and tell her what to do either, because she would take none of that shit, but she wanted someone whom she could feel like she was on equal ground with. Someone who would care about her, but also wouldn't let her get away with everything.

She didn't have the heart to tell the poor boy she wanted to dump him. He'd probably curl into a ball on the ground and cry. But she also knew that she didn't want to lead him on. Maybe she should just do it quick like a bandaid...

The sound of approaching footsteps brought Darcy out of her rumination and she looked up from the papers that she was supposed to be documenting to see a familiar hunk in a star spangled combat suit.

Darcy smiled as she quietly tried to slip the paper under the desk, "Hey Cap! What's up?"

Steve Rogers smiled at her, "Hello Ms. Lewis. Do you know if Thor is around?"

Since his return from Asgard, Cap had become quite possibly Thor's closest friend. It wasn't hard to see why. Both noble and honorable men who were about as good-natured as you could get, but still natural warriors.

Darcy smiled ruefully, only slightly upset that he wasn't here to talk to her. "Sure, he's up on the third floor smashing place."

Steve gave her an odd look, "You mean the training room?"

Darcy smirked, "For Goldilocks? It's a smashing place."

The star spangled hero contemplated that for a moment, and then gave her a half shrug, "I suppose. Thank you Ms. Lewis. Have a nice afternoon."

"YOU CAN CALL ME DARCY!" She called after him as he left to find the Thunder God. He turned and gave her a friendly smile before he left, but otherwise didn't respond. He was probably too much a gentleman to feel comfortable with that.

Darcy was certainly not too much of a lady not to feel comfortable staring as his tight ass as he walked away. Yeah, she had a bit of a girl-crush, but hey, it's freaking Captain America! She felt she was entitled to that. Not that she'd actually want it to go anywhere. She was fine admiring the goods from afar.

Darcy sighed and stood up. She was bored and wasn't getting anywhere. She'd finish cataloging Jane's data tomorrow. Sweeping up her security card (awesome) and her iPod, she began to make for home.

* * *

Steve ducked under another swipe from his sparring partner and landed two quick punches into Thor's abdomen before pulling back and again out of his reach. Thor chuckled, hardly even feeling the blows, and shifted his stance into a more defensive posture.

"You know, even without my God-strength, I was still capable of taking down an entire squadron of your finest warriors back in New Mexico, and yet I cannot lay a hand on you Captain. Truly you are the greatest warrior I have ever known. Had you the strength of the Aesir I believe you could single-handedly strike down the entire royal guard of my father's palace."

Steve shrugged, as he attacked again, feigning left, then somehow slipping through Thor's attempt at a grab and landing a heavy uppercut to Thor's jaw with enough force likely to rip a normal man's head from his shoulders, "I don't know about that Thor. But I do know that you're telegraphing your attacks too much."

Thor blinked in surprise and held his fists closer to his chest. The pair circled around each other like wolves waiting for an opening, neither giving one. Thor lost his patience first and lashed out with a strike angled at Steve's shoulder. Captain America let out a surprised shout and was only just barely able to slide with the momentum of the punch to avoid taking the hit. At the last possible moment, he grabbed onto Thor's arm and used his shoulder as leverage to lift the Thunder God off the ground and flip him hard onto the metal floor.

Thor landed on his back with a heavy thud, the force of the landing enough to send an echoing crash throughout the entire building. Thor looked up, unharmed, and let out a bark of laughter, "Very good Captain. You have bested me."

Cap smiled and helped pull his friend up, "You fixed that telegraphing problem instantly. I didn't see that last one coming."

Thor shrugged, "It is something that I had thought I had overcome a long time ago. I am glad that you made me aware of the fault in my combat prowess."

The two of them turned to leave the training room, Thor picking up Mjolnir on the way and Steve his shield. They walked through SHIELD headquarters for a while, discussing all manner of things. Every so often, Thor noted, Steve would open his mouth as if to say something and then seemed to think better of it and go back to whatever they were discussing.

For a while, Thor didn't question this, deciding that if his friend wanted to talk, he would, but finally his curiosity got the best of him, "Is there something you wish to say to me Captain? I would not have you afraid to speak."

The two stopped walking, and Captain America stood still for a moment, a look almost of concern on his face, "It's just...you've been back for a while now and you haven't mentioned anything about your Brother. Now I know that you told Director Fury that he died, and nobody has wanted to talk to you about that, but I just figured I wanted to see how you were holding up."

Thor turned his head away, "My capacity to lift has not been impeded by my brother's death. I assure you I am as capable a warrior as I have always been. If you are inquiring as to my personal well-being, I am coping well enough."

Steve nodded, "I'm sorry. I know that despite everything, you still cared about him. How did he die?" His eyebrows raised inquisitively and even Thor, dense as he could be, could not fail to recognize the implied question, 'did your father execute him?'

Thor shook his head, "He died saving my life and the life of Jane Foster. For all his evil, were it not for this act, I would not be here today."

Steve was quiet for a moment, and then nodded, "I can't say that I can forgive him for what he did on Earth, but it sounds like he went out a hero."

Thor nodded, "In his own way."

* * *

_It was dark...darker than night...darker than death..._

_The Jotun Prince looked around and saw nothing. Not a floor beneath his feet nor the walls of a cage. Only himself, almost glowing against the sheer blackness around him, naked, beaten, and bloody. He could see no chains constraining him, yet some force held his arms above his head. He didn't know where he was. He couldn't remember how he had gotten there. The last thing he remembered was falling. Falling for weeks, through the space between realms, dark but not dark like this._

_He pulled against the force that bound his hands, but there was no give, only a burning pain that shot through his bones and into his spine. He cried out in agony, but continued to struggle. He had to get out of this. He had to find his way back to...back to what? His mind flicked to the man whom he had called father...the man who had rejected everything he had ever done and let him fall into darkness. He thought of the Warriors Three and Sif, who never wanted him along even when he was the one who saved them so often, only tolerating his presence because Thor insisted on bringing him along. He thought of Thor, who never saw him as a comrade or equal, but rather as his baby brother whom he protected out of some notion of familial duty._

_Even if he escaped from this haunted prison, where would he go? He had no home left. Nothing but the void._

_"Loki, of Asgard." A raspy voice spoke whispered in his ear. He twisted his head around, trying to find the source of the voice, but there was nothing. Suddenly, he felt the sensation of fingers on his face, "You have failed us, frost child. You had promised us a trophy and what do we get? A defeated squadron. How disappointing..."_

_Failed? Had he failed them? How had that happened? Had he been here before? Yes...now that he thought about it, he had. This place. This empty realm of torture. He had been here before, and met the Other here. His fall from the Bifrost had been years ago, not days as he had at first thought. He had taken the Chitauri army and waged war against Midgard, his brother Thor, and the Avengers. And he had failed. Why was he here again? What was this?_

_A light appeared from out of the darkness, but it was not a comforting sort of light. Rather, it was a tendril of fire and pain, glowing with heat that would have evoked the jealousy of Muspelheim. Loki struggled, despite the pain it caused, against his invisible bonds, but it was for nothing. The tendril of fire pressed itself into his bare stomach and Loki screamed, his entire body convulsing in agony. After the barest moment, it retreated, and the pain ebbed away, leaving only throbbing echoes behind. His reprieve was short lived however, as the tongue of fire lashed at him again._

_"You truly thought you could escape from him? Even as a sham King sitting upon another's throne, you cannot hide."_

* * *

Loki's eyes shot open and he lurched off of his bed, his breathing labored. His nightmares had been getting worse, ever since Odin had left. He barely had them at all in his cell, but by now he was suffering from them every night, and they were getting worse. The Other was not a being that he feared, but the memories of those torturous days plagued him still.

He stood up from his bed, which was Odin's and looked into a nearby mirror, the familiar angled face and black hair looking back at him. He flexed the tiniest degree of his magic and the face changed, widening, hair turning white and an eye disappearing only for the hole to be covered up by a golden eye patch.

The disguised Loki walked to the enormous golden doorway which was the entrance to Odin's room and exited into a large antechamber. It was still the middle of the night, but there were two guards stationed outside the doorway.

"My King Odin. Are you unwell."

Loki turned to the guard, and gave a gruff, rueful smile, "My kingdom is being repaired but it is still in disarray. My wife is gone, and my son has chosen the realm of mortals before his own family. I find myself troubled, and I wish for the reprieve of a simple stroll. I am not in need of an escort. You may go."

The guards glanced at each other, nodded, and left down a small pathway off to the side. Loki smirked at the simplicity of deceiving such lesser minds, and departed.

He looked out the window at the cities of Asgard, and smiled. Despite his words, the reconstructions were going excellently. Most of the city was repaired, and under his command, the defenses had been refortified and strengthened with greater magic than they had ever had before. The composition of the walls had been reforged and re-tempered so as that they would be able to stand significantly more force, all with his own guidance and direction. Some had questioned the King's personal involvement, but he had written it off as something he needed to do to keep his mind off of his recent personal troubles. Either way, the Kingdom would soon be stronger than ever under his rule.

Truly, it was Odin's folly for casting him away and not giving to him his rightful place as king. He was clearly far better suited to the job than Thor.

But that wasn't his purpose right now. He had more important things to do.

Odin's palace was vast, and traversing it took a great deal of time, but Loki knew all of the shortcuts that neither Thor nor Odin, nor even the kings of old knew. It wasn't long before he found himself in a very deep part of the fortress, where the guards never ventured. He walked down a spiral staircase of stone, which ended in what anyone else would have seen as dead end but Loki simply walked through it without hesitation.

Behind the false wall of stone was a wooden door, upon which was carved a single rune, eihwaz. Loki placed a hand on the door and spoke, "Open"

He waited for a moment, but there was no reaction.

He spoke more forcefully, "I am the King of Asgard, Odin All-Father, and you will open for me!"

Still nothing happened.

Loki scoffed. He didn't really think it would work. The door was enchanted with a very old magic, and would only open for the rightful king of Asgard. A simple illusion would not suffice to confuse it.

But no matter. He had time.

* * *

**Reviews:**

**First off, thanks all for your kind words! I appreciate them all.**

**silverspetz: HEY! Good to hear from you again as well. The idea of Odin's plan all came from just the simplest of ideas, all coming from just the short scene where Loki goes back to Asgard, disguised as a royal guard. He mentions having found a body and Odin replies "Loki?" and he gives that famous devilish grin. I just couldn't see how Odin could have NOT recognized that grin, and when he asks "Loki?" we are supposed to think "You found Loki's body" but it could just as easily be identifying the guard. Either way, I presumed that Odin HAD to be in on it.**

**As for Odin's old man disguise, yeah, I am a big fan of the classical Norse tales, and I will be incorporating a lot of them into this story. Or at least a lot of the themes. Odin just being a big, hard-headed bully never struck me as right, and I don't think that's what they are really going for. Remember that Frigga says that everything he does has a purpose, so even if he comes across as more of a typical viking, I do believe he's just as much a schemer and mastermind as Loki.**

**scarletwitch0: I'm glad you approve. Yeah, I don't know what's going to happen with Anthony Hopkins, but I refuse to believe they would kill Odin off without even showing it. That's nuts. He deserves more respect than that. And I was really digging the redemption that Loki seemed to be going towards (although I don't think he's there yet).**

**IAmCommonSense: It is my running theory for what happened, which is why I am writing it :) I'm glad you approve, and I hope you enjoy the tasertricks. My personal favorite Marvel pairing.**


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